Newcastle: The next summer signing?

Newcastle are said to still be in the hunt for young defender Eric Dier.

The North East club are reportedly interested in the 20-year-old, who they have previously scouted according to The Daily Star.

Newcastle still hope to add Sporting Lisbon’s Eric Dier to their six summer recruits.

United chief scout Graham Carr is an admirer of the Cheltenham-born central defender, who moved to Portugal when he was seven.

Although The Magpies would like to bring Dier to The Premier League, they are currently not willing to pay the fee that Sporting Lisbon want. The Portuguese side have quoted a figure of around £5 million. However, Newcastle do not value the defender as highly as that and will seek to negotiate a reduced fee.

With two years remaining on his contract though, Sporting are unlikely to let him leave without a significant transfer offer.

The defender has spent the majority of his career in Portugal. Joining Sporting’s Academy in 2003 he later signed a professional contract with the club and became a regular in the club’s under-19 squad.

After spending a short spell on loan at Everton he returned to Sporting, making 16 appearances for the reserve team. Dier has since gone on to make 26 appearances in the senior side. The youngster has also been capped at various youth levels of the England national team.

Newcastle have been one of the busiest clubs in this transfer window. They have already signed fellow youngster Ayoze Perez along with likes of Dutch pair Daryl Janmaat and Siem de Jong, whose brother Luuk was at Tyneside on loan last season.

Alan Pardew has brought in midfielder Jack Colback from fierce local rivals Sunderland. And the last few days have also seen Remy Cabella and Emmanuel Riviere move to St. James Park.